Bristol Myers Squibb announced last week that it has joined Life Science Cares as the inaugural partner for a major national campaign aimed at a critical intersection of public health: food insecurity and health equity.
The initiative, titled “Food is Health: Nourishing Communities, Advancing Health,” is a bold five-year plan to invest $30 million and mobilize 30,000 volunteer hours by 2030. As the lead partner, BMS has committed $5 million to anchor the program, which treats nutritious food not just as a basic need, but as a clinical necessity for disease prevention and treatment.
The partnership is grounded in a “whole patient” approach to medicine. Research consistently shows that a patient’s ability to recover from serious illness is often dictated by their ZIP code and access to a grocery store rather than just the medicine in their cabinet.
“We recognize the need to treat the whole patient, both through innovative medicines and by addressing broader factors that impact a person’s health, like food insecurity,” Wendy Short Bartie, executive vice president of corporate affairs at Bristol Myers Squibb said.
According to data cited by the campaign, the impact of food insecurity on health care is stark:
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Higher Chronic Disease Rates: Lack of nutrition is linked to increased risks of heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension.
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Treatment Failure: Patients struggling with hunger are significantly more likely to skip doses of life-saving medication to afford food.
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Hospitalization: Food insecurity is a leading driver of preventable hospital readmissions.
The campaign launches at a pivotal moment. More than 40 million Americans currently face food insecurity—a figure that includes 1 in 5 children. In New Jersey alone, where BMS is headquartered, thousands of families continue to navigate the “SNAP cliff” and rising grocery costs that force difficult choices between health and hunger.
Life Science Cares, which operates major hubs in Philadelphia and New York that serve the New Jersey corridor, aims to use BMS’s leadership to rally other biotech and pharma giants.
“Bristol Myers Squibb is showing the kind of leadership our industry needs—rooted in compassion and responsibility,” said Rob Perez, Founder of Life Science Cares. “This commitment goes beyond a single moment on a global stage… BMS is making a long-term investment in people.”
For BMS, the partnership is an extension of its broader mission. The company, which employs thousands of people across its Princeton, Lawrenceville, and Summit campuses, has long focused on “SDoH” (Social Determinants of Health). This $5 million commitment is designed to be scalable, providing a blueprint for how the life sciences industry can address the root causes of poverty to improve long-term medical outcomes.
